


Lost and Found

by KristannaFever



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Kristanna, Little Smutty, Modern AU, but of course it ends happy, starts off with a little angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:06:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22869076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KristannaFever/pseuds/KristannaFever
Relationships: Anna/Kristoff (Disney)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	1. Lost

Anna has been told that she is lost, but she doesn’t see it that way. She thinks of it as more like searching. For what, she does not know, and perhaps that is why people mutter things about her. She simply knows that she is looking for something; something she doesn’t yet know she needs.

She travels the world in that search. Her family’s fortune allows her to do so. She does not work like Elsa works. She does not look at life in the strict way that Elsa does. Never has and never will. She is a free spirit in every sense of the word.

The places she has been are all highlighted by tacks stuck into a map of the globe on a wall in her apartment. It is very colorful and very, very full. Elsa can’t help but sneer at it every time she’s in her sister’s tiny apartment.

“You need to focus, Anna, and do something with your life. You can’t just travel forever. Your trust fund will run dry before you know it and then where will you be? Working at McDonalds for minimum wage when you’re fifty?”

Anna rolls her eyes. Elsa has brought this up before. Many times. She just can’t understand Anna’s decisions. Her sister, the Harvard educated lawyer, is making sure _her_ future is secure.

Anna can’t plan past her next destination. 

“I care about you,” Elsa says. Anna knows it’s true, but she also knows that her sister loves to be in control and Anna hates that about her. If it was up to Elsa, she would watch over every facet of Anna’s life.

Anna knows she should give her sister a break. She’s always been this way. Can’t fault her for her personality, but sometimes she just wishes that she could _just be a sister_ , and maybe go on a trip with her and have fun. Elsa has not left home since before their parents died. Anna herself is an exchange student in Spain when her sister calls her with the news that their parents were killed when they were hit head-on by a drunk driver. That is the worst flight of her life, trying not to cry (and failing miserably) in a plane filled with strangers.

She attempts to drop out after the funeral, many times, but Elsa is always there to scold her and shame her back. Anna quickly stops trying and begrudgingly finishes high school, happy at least that she is finally eighteen and no longer has to obey her sister’s orders.

As soon as she finishes her last exam, Anna goes to the airport and buys a first-class ticket on the first flight leaving. She spends two weeks exploring South Dakota. There is a lot of amazing things to see and do there and she probably never would have gone had she not just hopped on whatever plane she could. 

She does that a few more times before she gets hassled too much by the Airport Authority. No one just hopped on a plane to some random destination, except her apparently. After that she plans every trip, even if it is the day before. Booking the return flight is always the hardest, since she never knows when she is going to want to leave a place. She has traded in flights so many times, that it has cost her a small fortune. To her, a small price to pay. 

All the places she’s been, all the things she’s seen, how can she be lost? 

She can’t stop moving. As long as she’s been aware of herself, she’s always been unable to sit still. Perhaps that’s why she’s done so much. And yet, sometimes she hates where her mind wanders, wondering if all her unbound energy might be better focussed elsewhere after all. She doesn’t want to think about the possibility that she has been wasting her life. She does not want to think about the fact that Elsa might be right. 

She’s been alone so long that she doesn’t even really know what physical contact feels like anymore. She doesn’t seem to miss it though. She’s happy being on her own and exploring and seeing and doing. Always doing and rarely sleeping. It is normal. It is _her_ normal.

Every night (or morning if she is out too late the night before), she grabs her laptop and writes diary entries about her experiences and what she saw. She has done this even from the very beginning when she was just scribbling in a beat-up lined notebook. Since then, she has transferred all that babble to Word documents and keeps them in an organized file system of the date, place, time and activity, paired with any photos she may have taken. She does not want to forget a thing about these places and she often reads over old entries when she is feeling particularly low. Usually when she is back home.

She doesn’t stop, despite everyone’s objections, and she actively begins to distance herself from everyone in her life. All they do when she’s around is talk about practicality and sense. An idiot she is not, and she knows their veiled words are directly about her. She chooses to ignore. That’s the best thing she can do. She takes another impromptu trip and thinks nothing of it.

When she’s in Istanbul, she gets mugged. It’s bad. She wakes in the hospital and is told later what happened to her. All her cash, all her traveller’s cheques, and her passport, are gone. She doesn’t quite know what to do as she heals from the bruises and scrapes. She wishes her sister was there, but not, at the same time. She wants comfort, but she does not want scrutiny. The story of her life.

She heals, then talks to the American consulate and gets a new passport, whiling away two weeks trapped there. There is nothing to do and time moves so slowly, that she thinks she might actually go insane. 

Then her freedom to leave finally arrives and she’s on a plane back to New York.

Her seatmate, a large blond man, doesn’t say a word the entire flight. She wants to talk to him to pass the time, but his nose is buried in a book and he only stops reading to talk to the steward or visit the washroom. Anna tires to talk to the woman across the aisle, which she does for a time, then is politely brushed off when the woman explains that she wants to get some sleep.

So, Anna watches the stupid little television in front of her, thinking even thought she’s trying not to think. The man beside her shifts, obviously uncomfortable, and she can’t imagine how cramped his legs must be with how long they are.

She peeks sideways at him, but his eyes are scanning the pages of his book, so Anna closes her lids and attempts to sleep.

She finds it, but her dreams are tormented by all the demons in her life. She wakes with a start and it is the first time the man next to her looks over. He opens his mouth to say something, but the steward is suddenly at Anna’s side, asking them if they need anything.

They both reply no, but then Anna changes her mind and asks for a glass of water. The steward puts it on the try in front of her and when Anna looks back at the blond, he is reading again. 

The plane finally lands and Anna finds her way back to her apartment. She discovers a dozen worried messages from her sister on her machine and deletes them all without listening. She just needs to sleep. She crawls into bed and passes out for nearly twelve hours.

When she wakes, Anna calls her sister and tells her everything. She can’t keep secrets. Her sister is mad, as Anna knew she would be, and even though there’s still compassion in Elsa’s voice, she knows her sister will never think of her as anything other than a fuck-up.

Anna leaves again a week later and spends three months roaming around Scotland and Ireland because she decides to keep ignoring everything.

Her sister eventually gives up on her. Elsa doesn’t bring the issue up anymore and she no longer visits Anna’s apartment. To Anna, this is a bit of a relief, but also troublesome. She loves her sister dearly, it is in her nature to love unconditionally, but she can no longer ignore the fact that her sister may have been right this whole time.

Her bank account is finally starting to worry her. She does not think that she could have gone through so much money in such a short time, but that is exactly what she has done.

What is she supposed to do, if she can no longer travel? What is she do, if she can no longer get away from it all? Just what the hell is she going to do when the money is gone? She is a week shy of thirty and she realizes she might be looking at a desolate future.

Maybe, just maybe, she _was_ lost…


	2. Found: Part one

Anna tapped her finger on the top of her desk, completely torn as to what to do.

She had finally decided that she was going to smarten up and start thinking about her future. She didn’t know exactly yet what she wanted to do, but she knew that she had work for herself, and she wanted to start a business while she still had the money to do so. What kind of business, however, she had no idea.

With that firmly decided, Anna knew she wanted to go on one more trip before she changed her life. She wanted to spend her thirtieth birthday somewhere special. She wanted to maybe try and make a few friends and have something that she could hold on to, just in case it was the last trip she ever took.

But where? Where could she go that she hasn’t already been? She looked at all the open spaces on the world map on her wall, but none of them seem fitting for what she had in mind. She tried to close her eyes, turning around a few times and pointing to see if she’d come up with some inspiration. But every time she did that, she didn’t like the outcome.

Maybe a place she had been before? One of her favorites. She thought about all the places she would love to go back to, realizing quickly that there were too many to narrow it down.

She sighed and got up to grab herself a bowl of cereal. She ate it slowly as she paced lazily around her apartment, looking at all the things she had acquired from all her travels and thinking about what she loved most about travelling.

There was swimming. She loved swimming, specially on the ocean, so somewhere with a nice warm beach would be perfect. She loved fresh seafood too. It was one of her favorite things. She enjoyed hiking and she liked sight-seeing tours because she wanted to try and meet some new people and there was always someone friendly to chat to on those.

Okay, so that narrowed it down a bit. What else could she do on the water? She had tried surfing a few times and never seemed to have the patience for it, but paddle-boarding could be fun. She had never done that.

Anna turned around and her eyes fell absentmindedly to the map and just so happened to settle on a cluster of small islands. She pulled in an excited breath, knowing instantly where she was going to go. 

*****

Anna settled herself in her first-class seat, excited to get to her destination. She had been to Hawaii and Oahu on short visits, but she hadn’t yet set foot on Maui. She could find everything she enjoyed most on the small island.

She purposefully didn’t read up on what to see and do. She wanted everything to be a surprise. She didn’t even book a hotel, because she wanted to get some good local recommendations on where to stay. It was going to be perfect. She loved the Hawaiian Islands.

She watched people slowly filter into the plane, wondering what she would end up doing first, when she locked eyes with him. She could see the recognition right away and he looked at her, incredulous. He moved forward and sat slowly down beside her. 

“I know you,” he said softly, almost a little hesitant. “We sat together on the plane back from Istanbul.”

“We did,” Anna smiled, a little surprised he remembered since he had been reading a book the entire flight. “Quite the coincidence that we find each other sitting together again.”

A slow smile spread across his face. “Indeed.”

They fell silent as the plane prepared for take off. Anna noticed the man had taken a book out of his bag, but for the time being, sat unopened on his lap. 

She turned and watched out the window as the plane took off, breathing a sigh of relief that they were finally on their way. She looked back over to catch the blond man quickly look away. Had he been looking out the window too, or at her?

Anna looked down at the book still in his lap.

“What are you reading?” she asked. 

He looked over at her, smile creeping on his lips. “Uh, it’s _The Seven Ages of Paris_. It’s about the history of the city.”

“That’s interesting.”

“Yeah, the book is actually quite good. Do you like to read?”

“Oh yes. I love reading. I think one of my absolute favorite things is relaxing on a patio near a beach and sipping on a beer while I read and people watch.”

He blinked at her a second and then opened his mouth, then closed it, like he did not know how to respond. Anna looked at him curiously until he finally spoke. 

“That’s… wow, that’s one of my favorite things too.”

“You’re kidding?”

He shook his head, “No, I have done that many times. Especially at home.”

“Where’s home?”

“Maui,” he smiled. 

“You live there?” Her eyes went wide.

“Yup. Moved down there, wanting a bit of a change,” he laughed. “That was about nine years ago. I figured I’d live there for a bit and then move on, but,” he shrugged, “I love it there.”

“Wow, that’s awesome. I can’t wait to see it! I’ve been to Hawaii and Oahu, but not Maui.”

“It’s the best island, in my opinion,” he smirked.

Anna liked his smile. She liked his face, as a matter of fact. There was something about him that was so genuine and she found herself wanting to know more about him. Perhaps since he lived there, he could tell her of some good destinations. Better yet, maybe he would take her to some of them. That prospect gave her that feeling of butterflies in her stomach.

“So, you live in New York then?” he asked at her silence. 

She nodded. “All my life, but I do a lot of travelling.”

“Ah, me too. Do you travel for work?”

“Um, sort of. I am… researching destinations… gathering info… um…”

“Oh, like a travel guide?” he asked, face lighting up.

Anna nodded without thinking. She didn’t know why she was lying to him. She had never been shy of explaining her situation when asked before, so why now? Was it because of the way he was looking at her? Was it the fact that she actually didn’t want him to think she was just some spoiled brat, pissing away her father’s money. She instantly regretting the lie, but it was out and there was no way to take it back. She would have to explain later, because he was opening his mouth, probably to ask her about it, so she spoke again instead.

“What about you? What do you do?”

“I’m a photographer,” he said. “That has me going all over the globe. Currently I’m taking a little break and looking at a solid month at home with not a care in the world.”

“That sounds lovely,” Anna said, wishing that she could feel that way about being at home. Maybe if she lived in Maui, she would.

“Um, I’m Kristoff by the way,” he held out his hand.

“Anna,” she said, shaking it.

“Well, it’s nice to actually meet you Anna.”

“Likewise,” she smiled.

*****

That book sat in Kristoff’s lap the entire flight. Anna had asked him about what kind of photographs he took and the conversation just kept going from there. She found out a lot about him in a short amount of time. His photograph credits included magazines, travel brochures, post-cards, websites, stock photo galleries, and lots of other things such as destination weddings.

He was born and raised by a loving foster family in Colorado and moved to the island as soon as his work started to gain some traction. Anna asked if he had any examples of his work she could see and he had blushed and reached down under the seat in front of him to grab his laptop to show her. Anna discovered that his talent was astounding. 

She had never seen such beautiful photos. He showed her his pictures from his most recent trip to Paris for a customer who simply wanted him to go and take some photo’s because he missed home and wanted to showcase them in his lavish New York Penthouse. He had explained that the customer paid for everything during that trip and all Kristoff had to do was follow him around and take pictures of anything the man wanted. He had paid Kristoff handsomely for the rights to all the photo’s afterward, so he could choose which to print, and Kristoff had gladly given him all the shots; even the candid ones he took of the client and his wife. She had been absolutely trilled to see those ones.

Anna learned that he lived alone (no wife or girlfriend), he loved to walk the beach at sunset, he loved to surf, he had a television but rarely watched it, and he loved to cook.

It was intense having a conversation with him while they were in such close proximity. Anna felt herself getting lost in his eyes more than once and she had to remind herself to pay attention to what he was saying. 

They talked a bit more about his life for a while until she could tell he was getting wary of talking about himself, so Anna allowed him to start asking questions. Which he certainly did. She was grateful that he didn’t ask anything about her work. Instead, she got to talk about her childhood for a time, which was happy until her parents passed. Kristoff had offered his condolences and Anna found it strange since obviously he’d never met them. She guessed that he was just that type of guy; extremely conscious and empathetic. 

Then they had started to talk about travel. They told each other all the places they’ve seen, shared stories, talked about their favorites, all the high’s and low’s, and the unbelievable, incredibly crazy happenstance, that they had both been in London at the same time, staying at the same hotel, one year prior. Anna suddenly wished that they would have bumped into each other back then. There was something in his eyes that suggested maybe he did too. 

Before Anna even knew what was happening, the flight crew was announcing that they were making their decent and she was shocked that the time had gone by so fast. Kristoff was telling her a story of his experience in Machu Picchu and she was hanging on every word, even during landing and departure. They had stuck together for the entire process of getting their bags as they continued to chat away, suddenly finding that they were standing on the sidewalk outside the airport about to part ways.

Kristoff stopped their idle stroll and turned to look at her. “So, where are you staying?”

“Oh, I actually don’t know yet. I was going to get some local recommendations. Do you have any suggestions?”

“Well,” he said slowly, “I don’t know if you’re interested, but I do have place you could stay for free.”

“Really?” Anna asked, very intrigued but also a little nervous. Was he going to ask her to stay with him? She really wanted to do that, but at the same time she had never done anything like it before. She had always relied on hotels and hostels. Never once had she stayed in someone else’s home. It wasn’t for lack of wanting to per se, it had just never been offered to her before.

He nodded. “I live in the Maui Banyan in Kihei. It’s one of those places that’s made to rent out when not being used so there’s a hotel suite attached to my condo. There isn’t anyone in it for the next month. You are more than welcome to it.”

Anna opened her mouth to respond when he suddenly started talking again.

“It’s not like you have to go through my place to get to it or anything. It has its own hallway door and the joining one inside does lock. You’ll have your privacy and whatever. Just so you know.”

He suddenly looked borderline nervous and his words came out a little awkwardly. It was endearing as hell. 

“Okay,” Anna said. She wasn’t at all worried about him in any way shape of form. She had talked to him enough on the plane to understand he was an honest, hard-working person, who happened to be a sweetheart. “I would love to accept your offer, Kristoff. Thank you.”

“Alright then,” he smiled and reached down to grab her bag for her. “Let’s get a cab.”

*****

“Here’s your door,” he said, pointing to his left as they walked down the hall carrying their bags. “I’ll just pop in and grab you the key card.”

“Can I see your place?” Anna asked. She was very curious.

“Sure,” he said, and Anna could tell he was fighting a smile.

She walked in after him, immediately pleased at what she saw. It was simple and there was no clutter. No personal touches, but she understood that since he rented it out, he probably wanted to keep it that way. The layout was efficient; the kitchen was to the right with a large island lined with stools and there was a four-person table on it’s left, directly in front of them. She looked past it to the tv area by the balcony and then a set of French doors to the left that she assumed was for the bedroom. 

“Uh, come on in,” he said, walking further into the space.

The door shut behind Anna and she left her bag at the entrance, following Kristoff into the living room. 

“This is pretty much it,” he said, looking around and seeming a little sheepish about it. “The bathroom is off the kitchen back there and there’s a closet laundry in the hall adjacent that also leads to the bedroom. That’s… all.”

“It’s very nice Kristoff,” she said. “Perfect for renting when you’re away, right?”

“It is,” he smiled, visibly relaxing. “I kind of regret that I don’t have any of my own things on display, but they’re all in storage. Someday when I don’t travel as much, I want to buy a house and then I can decorate it how I want.”

“That’s wonderful. Can I see the view from the balcony?”

Kristoff looked over his shoulder. “Oh, sure, of course,” he walked over and pulled back the drapes, letting in the setting sun. He opened the sliding glass door and Anna followed him outside.

“Wow,” she said, as soon as she laid her eyes on the view. The ocean seemed to be right there. She realized that it kind of was. There was only a street and the short driveway up to the complex that stood between them and the beach. The sun was just about to disappear behind the horizon, painting the sky in beautiful pinks, purples and golds.

She turned to look at him. “This is gorgeous.”

He paused a moment, as if he was contemplating, and then his hand came up to the back of his neck. “Would you, maybe, want a beer? We could sit out here for a bit?”

Anna smiled. “I would love one! Thank you.”

He nodded with a smile and went back inside. Anna settled herself in one of his deck chairs and inhaled the warm, sweet air. She could smell the Hawaiian Hibiscus and the Plumeria that grew all around the complex and felt her entire body relax. This was exactly what she wanted to get out of her birthday trip.

Kristoff came back out with two bottles of cold beer. ‘Thanks’, Anna said, as he handed one to her and sat beside her. They were silent for a moment, taking the first few sips, then Kristoff was the one to break the silence. 

“So, what are your plans while you’re here?”

“Oh, I thought I would just kind of explore and stuff. I want to see and do everything on this trip.”

“Yeah? How long are you staying?”

How long was she going to be there? She had a plane ticket back in two weeks, but she could easily exchange it for a later date. Had done so too many times to count. But she knew she could not stay forever. She had to get back and get her life on track and figure out what she was going to do.

“Well, two weeks, but if I’m enjoying myself I might make it three or four,” she said.

He nodded slowly, then turned his focus back out over the ocean. She could tell right away her answer left him with questions and Anna felt the sudden pang of regret for lying to him about what she did for a living earlier. It wasn’t even really that bad of a lie, but for some reason it was bothering her. What was it about his face that was so honest? Plus, she knew if they were going to keep having conversations, it was probably going to come up again. 

“So,” Anna said, drawing out the word. “I may have fibbed a little earlier when I was talking about my work,” she said, just wanting to get it over with. If he got mad about it, he could kick her out before she got settled in then.

“Oh?” He looked over and raised his eyebrows. 

His expression was unassuming, which gave Anna the courage to continue even though she could not seem to meet his eyes as she did so. She cast her gaze down as she started to peel the label off the beer bottle. 

“I, don’t really have a job, per se. They only reason I have been able to do all this travelling is because I have a trust fund left to me when my parents passed away.” Anna tried to look up but found she couldn’t. His silence was making her nervous and she started to babble. “I’ve been a little reckless though, so this is my last trip for… a while. I just wanted to make it special since I turn thirty on Friday. Then when I get back, I am going to focus on starting my own business or something. I need to work for myself. I’ve been too free for too long to have to work under someone. But I will smarten up and it’ll make my sister happy. She has been on my back for years to stop pissing away the money,” Anna sighed. The label was completely torn off the bottle. “Sorry for the lie and I’m sorry that I am probably coming off as a spoiled brat, but I’ve just been on this search for something I need in my life, and to be honest, I thought I would have found it by now. But I haven’t and look at me here, confessing this all to you and you probably don’t even care and think I am a crazy person, and-”

“Anna?”

She pulled in a breath and finally looked up. He was offering her a soft smile and she instantly relaxed, exhaling slow and steady.

“Its not a big deal, okay? I understand wanting to keep that information from a stranger. Too many people make instant assumptions. And for the record, I do not think you are a spoiled brat. Hell, if I was in your position, I know I would have done the same thing. Ever since I was little, I have always wanted to see the world, so I worked hard to be able to.”

Anna huffed. “Yeah, see? You worked hard to get where you were. I didn’t do jack-shit. I took the money and ran. I ran away from my sister, my problems, my life, planning my future, all because I felt like I needed something that was missing, which has so far eluded me. I am beginning to think I have wasted my entire life,” she was a little scared with how easy it was to open up to him. She didn’t know him at all; had only met him hours ago, and here she was, telling him things that she has been unable to tell her own flesh and blood. Why was he affecting her so much? 

Kristoff`s gaze scanned her face for a moment. “Do you regret your choices Anna?” he asked softly.

She was a little shocked by the question. No one had ever asked her that before. Did she regret everything? Every place she had ever been? All the things she has seen and the money that she had spent. Would she have done her life differently, if she knew then what she knew now? She had recently committed to change her life, but did she regret not doing it sooner? 

Anna smiled, realizing something within her for the first time. She shook her head. “No. I don’t. I don’t regret a single day.”

“Well then,” Kristoff said, taking a swig from his bottle and setting in back on the glass table between them. “If you don’t regret your life then there is no way you could have been wasting it. It will all work out. Just think about the things that make you happy and work towards making that your life. Make money from it. That’s what I did and I know for a fact you can to the same. You have the tenacity to do it, I can see that in you. You will figure it out Anna, I promise.”

Anna pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly, processing his words. His optimism and directness, was incredibly refreshing. When was the last time she’d talked to someone that wasn’t telling her she was being stupid? When was the last time that someone had offered simple words of encouragement? The answer, was never.

Anna smiled, wide and happy, and all of the sudden there were tears in her eyes. A weight that she didn’t even known was sitting on her shoulders was suddenly lifted. She felt that rush of happiness run through her, exhilarating her, making her see clearly for the first time in what felt like her entire life. Instead of a desolate future she was now looking at a world of possibilities, and all it took to get there was the kind words of the beautiful man beside her.

“Anna, I am sorry! I didn’t mean to make you cry.”

Anna realized he was frowning and looked genuinely concerned. She shook her head, trying to stop the waterworks, fanning her face with her hand. “These are happy tears,” she managed. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry.”

The compassion in his tone and on his features made her start crying harder and she was choked with too much emotion to respond. 

Suddenly he was standing in front of her, holding out his hand. “Forgive me if this is too bold, but would you like a hug?”

Anna looked at his offered hand, voice still frozen in her throat. She looked back up to his eyes and nodded, placing her palm in his. He pulled her to her feet and against his chest as he wrapped his arms gently around her.

It felt good to be hugged. It felt _so good_. It had been a very sad amount of time since she had been in someone’s embrace. She fought back the sob that threated to escape her throat and slid her arms around him, resting her hands around his broad shoulders and sighing against his body. She could hear his heartbeat in her ear and it calmed her enough to reign back her tears.

“Better?” he asked softly.

Anna nodded against his shirt. 

“As long as you need, okay?” he whispered.

Anna didn’t nod or speak. She just hugged him tighter. Much to her delight, he did the same. 

She wasn’t too sure how long she had let the hug stretch on. It felt like hours and also like merely seconds. It was so wonderful to be held that Anna had a hard time pulling herself away, but she made herself move and gently slipped from his grasp. She thought that the moment they released each other might be awkward, but it wasn’t.

He offered her another beer and Anna was grateful and relieved. They spent the next hour talking idly about what there was to see and do on Maui, when Kristoff offered to show her around a bit. She had enthusiastically accepted.

He suggested ordering a pizza if Anna was hungry, which she was, so they did and had another beer while they waited. They ate on the deck, talking as the moon rose in the sky, shimmering over the black ocean with eerie beauty. When Kristoff finally let out the first yawn, Anna said she was tired too. He showed her the hotel suite she was staying in and said to knock on his door in the morning and he would make her breakfast if she was interested. She agreed and bid him goodnight. 

For the first time in a long time, Anna went to bed that night with a smile on her face and fell asleep almost instantly.


	3. Found: Part two

For the next three days Kristoff made her breakfast every morning. His cooking was amazing, and when Anna told him how good it was in her typical boisterous way, he blushed crimson every time. He had the knack for omelettes, cooked bacon to perfection, and made her an Eggs Benedict with the best tasting home-made hollandaise sauce she’d ever eaten in her entire life. 

Every day after breakfast he would ask her what she wanted to do and Anna would have the delight in choosing from all his suggestions. He didn’t complain about a thing, or the fact that she wanted to drag him with her to all of it, even if he’d done it before. They only time he balked was taking a helicopter ride. He wasn’t afraid of flying, and had no issue with heights, but for some reason helicopters made him nervous. He did it once when he first moved to the island and never again. Still, he said he would go with her and look at it as an opportunity to get over his fear.

Anna had looked over at his tense face half way through the journey up and offered him her hand. He looked down at it, then back up to her eyes, smiling slowly before he took it. She gave him a gentle squeeze of encouragement and he gave her one in return.

They hiked the volcano in Haleakala National Park. Anna enjoyed it thoroughly, marvelling at the breathtaking views. They rented scooters and drove down to Lahaina and spent the afternoon roaming in and out of the shops. Kristoff drove them in his topless Jeep YJ to Wailea, where they had a wonderful lunch and strolled around. They went paddle boarding and spent hours on the beach. Kristoff tried to teach her how to surf, but Anna gave up after a dozen wipeouts and Kristoff had laughed and suggested they just have fun and splash around in the water instead.

All they had done and there was still so much more to see and do. They planned to take the road to Hana, go whale watching, take a boat to Kaho’olawe, roam around the forest reserves, hike more trails, explore more beaches, and whatever else seemed to draw Anna’s attention.

The night before, Kristoff had taken her to his friend Sven’s house for dinner and Anna was delighted to meet him and his lovely wife Lily. They all hit it off right away and Anna realized how much she missed just having friends to hang out with. They drank too much and Sven demanded they stay the night instead of pay for a cab, so Anna and Kristoff had shared a bed. _‘It’s the only bed’,_ Sven apologized and told Kristoff he could sleep on the couch, but Anna had grabbed his hand and dragged him into the room, telling their wonderful hosts that they were more than capable of sharing.

He was nervous, she could tell, but Anna put him at ease by being up-front with him, explaining that if she got too close he could just wake her up and push her away. He told her he wouldn’t do such thing as they both shucked off their pants (carefully avoiding meeting each others eyes) and crawled into bed. Anna had to laugh at how far he was to his edge. He was making sure that there was a buffer between them and Anna suddenly wondered if the deep attractions and emotional feelings she had developed for him were reciprocated. She had a feeling they were, but she decided to try and find out for sure, so she yawned and asked if he would hold her just for a minute. He did not hesitate. She did notice however, that even thought he had pushing his chest against her back and slung his arm around her waist, his pelvis was not anywhere near her lower half. She was pretty sure she knew why and she smiled to herself as she drifted off, happy to know that there was indeed something going on between them.

The next (late) morning, all four of them had walked down the street and found a big, greasy breakfast. They all talked and got along so well that Anna could swear they had been friends for years.

Kristoff and Anna eventually went back to his place to have a nap. While Anna had wanted to ask if she could snuggle with Kristoff in his bed, she did not. She went to her own bed in the hotel suite and stared at the ceiling unable to fall asleep. 

She thought about how she felt since she had befriended Kristoff. She thought about how being in Maui, with him, felt more home than home.

And what about Kristoff? There was definitely an attraction building between them, but what was it to him? He hadn’t made a move yet and Anna thought that maybe he was just being gentlemanly about it. She caught him looking at her more than once. Then there was the way they both seemed to take every opportunity to touch each other, like holding hands as they walked down the street. She knew she was going to have to find out exactly what she was to him, and soon.

Anna rolled over and tried again to nap, but her mind was already in think mode, so she thought about what Kristoff had said about making money off of something that made her happy. 

That was the dream, wasn’t it? Everyone’s dream, she was pretty sure. Yet how many people actually lived it? How many people worked hard and sacrificed to make it happen? How many people could have, but didn’t? She suddenly felt very guilty for her advantage. She didn’t regret spending all that money, but she suddenly regretted spending it all on herself. She decided right then and there that whenever she had her own path forged, she would do everything she could to give back to the world she loved so much.

That thought gave her peace and she slowly drifted off to sleep.

*****

A soft knock at her door woke her up and she sprang out of bed, not wanting to seem like she had still been sleeping. She opened the door to Kristoff’s smiling face, but he frowned as soon as he looked at her.

“Oh, I am sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Wake me? What are you kidding? I wasn’t sleeping,” she laughed awkwardly. 

Kristoff smirked at her. “No? Weren’t sleeping huh?” His hand came up and he traced a finger down the side of her face. “Well you have a big sleep line across your cheek.”

Anna’s hand came up to her skin and sure enough, she felt a long crease in her skin. She had to laugh. “Well, you caught me. I _was_ sleeping. But I’m glad you woke me!”

“Only reason I knocked was that it’s getting on to be dinner time and I wanted to see what you wanted to do.”

“Oh my gosh, I slept that long?”

Kristoff chuckled and nodded. “I thought maybe you were just reading quietly in your room because you thought I was still sleeping.”

Anna shook her head. “No, I just… well it took me a bit to fall asleep.”

“Not me,” Kristoff laughed. “I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow.”

Anna smiled at him. She was absolutely in love with his laugh. 

“So, uh,” Kristoff ran a hand through his hair and Anna realized she had been staring at him. “What did you feel like for dinner? I could make something, or we could go out?”

“Why don’t we stay in,” Anna smiled. “We can talk and maybe go over what we’re going to do tomorrow?”

“Oh, I had a few ideas about that. Did you want me to tell you?” he said, walking into his kitchen as Anna followed him.

She had been asking him to tell her his ideas from the very beginning, but tomorrow was her birthday, and she wanted to make it special. “How about we keep it a surprise this time?”

“Sounds good to me,” Kristoff smiled. “So, what would you like for dinner?”

*****

They went out on the deck to watch the setting sun and have an after-dinner glass of wine. Anna leaned on the railing overlooking the ocean, thinking about how perfect life could be sometimes. She wondered suddenly how many sunset’s she had let go unappreciated. Or sunrises for that matter. When was the last time she’d watched the sun rise? To her, watching the sun come up was breathtakingly beautiful.

Anna heard then a weird clicking and sensed something moving behind her.

“Don’t move.”

“What?” She tried to look over at Kristoff to see what the hell he was talking about, but he repeated himself.

“Don’t move. Just, act natural. Do what you were doing,” he mumbled.

Anna heard the clicking again and suddenly placed it as the shutter of a camera. She tried to keep her face as neutral as she had imagined it to be before, but it was difficult now that she knew what he was doing. She waited until the noise finally stopped, then let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding.

“Sorry,” he said, voice distracted and Anna turned around to see him take a seat on the lounge chair, looking at the screen of the camera.

“Sorry for what?” Anna asked, walking over to him.

“I should have asked, but the lighting and your silhouette against the sky...” his voice trailed off as he was flipping through the photos. “I just… it was so beautiful, I had to take a picture,” he finished after a minute.

“Can I see?”

He finally looked up at her, like he had almost forgotten she was even there. “Oh, um, of course. Uh, come here,” he said, moving over on the chair. Anna decided to be bold and instead of sitting beside him, she took her place on his lap. He gulped audibly and Anna giggled at him. 

“This okay?” she asked in a teasing way, just in case he was uncomfortable with her directness.

“Yeah, perfectly fine,” he cleared his throat. “So, uh, this is the first one,” he showed her the camera and Anna saw her dark outline (no discernible details) against the colorful sky. It was breathtaking. There was no way to tell it was her, but the way he captured the moment, was beautiful.

“Oh Kristoff! That is lovely. Can you give me a copy of that? Please?”

“Yes, of course Anna,” he said, looking at her. He blinked realizing how close their faces were and Anna watched his eyes fall to her lips ever so briefly. She really, _really_ wanted him to kiss her.

“Here are the others,” he said, tearing his eyes away from hers and looking back down at the camera.

He slowly scrolled through the photos so that she could see them. He had moved from the position of her outline against the sky, to her side, and a close up of her face, taking from upward angle as he had crouched beside her. Anna was looking at her profile, painted by the colors of the setting sun, and she gasped.

She didn’t mind seeing herself in photos, but she always knew she looked just exactly like she looked all the time; plain old Anna. She had never seen a beautiful picture of herself until now. She looked like her, but different at the same time. Like she could have been a model in some other life. Kristoff’s gift had made her that way, but still. It was amazing and was the first picture of herself that she actually loved.

“May I confess something to you?”

Anna looked up at his words to see that he was looking into her eyes. “Sure,” she gulped, wondering what he was going to say. 

“I really regretted not talking to you on that plane back from Istanbul,” he said slowly, his gaze steadfast.

“Really?”

He nodded slowly. “After I got off the plane, I was kicking myself for not being bolder and just talking to you. But I am horrible at initiating conversation, so chickened out. Afterwards I felt like I missed an incredible opportunity… and now I know that I had.”

“What would have been different, if we had talked that time, do you think?”

His gaze wandered all over her face and Anna almost thought he wasn’t going to answer, when he finally spoke.

“I don’t know what would have been different,” he said quietly. “All I know is that my life is better for having gotten to know you. I can’t believe how lucky I got, to see you on the plane here, knowing I was given another chance. I knew right away that somehow, I wasn’t going to waste that gift.”

His eyes were filling with an intense passion and Anna felt it all the way down into her soul. 

“Well my life is better to have known you too,” Anna said, giving into her desire, inching closer to his face and pulling the corner of her lip into her teeth.

“Anna, I want to kiss you,” he whispered, leaning even closer to her, leaving barely an inch between them, anticipated breaths falling on each other’s skin.

“I want you to kiss me too,” Anna breathed.

He pushed his lips to hers and Anna felt herself come alive. She kissed him back with the sudden intensity that filled her, just getting into it, when his lips slowed for a second and she heard something being set on the glass table beside them - his camera. As soon as his hands were free, his arms wrapped steadily around her and his kisses intensified. Anna parted her lips, his warm tongue slid into her mouth, sending a shudder of desire down her spine.

Anna had never been kissed in such a way. It was as if Kristoff had opened a floodgate inside of her and her passion came pouring out. She was ready to give into that passion, let it control her, let it take over. 

But it was not meant to happen right then. There was a knock at Kristoff’s door and they both pulled away from each other, breathing hard, startled like they had been a couple of teenagers caught necking in a parked car.

“Dammit,” Kristoff whispered, “I’ll bet that’s Mrs. Jacobs. I always grab her packages when she’s away.”

He moved to get up, but hesitated, looking back down at her lips. He even leaned in closer to her, fully prepared to ignore the knock.

“Answer your door silly,” Anna giggled quietly.

Kristoff let out a faint groan of annoyance and got up, throwing a passionate look over his shoulder at her as he walked to his door.

Anna stayed on the deck, yawning as she listened to the exchange from the doorway. It _was_ Mrs. Jacobs, and Kristoff had retrieved a package for her that he had placed in the cupboard above his fridge. She thanked him and then told him all about her visit with her grandbabies, and then asked if he was available to look at her faucet that was dripping, and _‘oh you have company, I am so sorry. Sure, yes you can look at the tap some other time. It’s not that bad after all. Yes, you have a lovely night too dear.’_

Anna smiled as Kristoff walked back out onto the deck and sat beside her in the chair. 

He sighed heavily. “Mood killer huh?”

Anna laughed. “That’s okay. I’m pretty tired anyway.”

Kristoff nodded. “Yeah last night kind of kicked my ass too. Gosh when did we go to bed anyway? I could have sworn it was sunrise.”

“Just about,” Anna smiled.

There was a comfortable silence between them, then Anna was the first to get up. She really wanted to kiss him again and see how far he was willing to go, but she was exhausted and tomorrow was her birthday. She didn’t want to spend it sleeping, or too tired to enjoy herself. She would have another chance to explore _that_ territory with Kristoff, she knew it.

Kristoff stood with her and followed her to the joining door.

“Thanks for the wonderful day Kristoff, as always. I hope you have a good sleep.”

“You too, Anna,” he said, pulling her into a hug.

She hugged him back, lingering a pleasant moment in his arms, then opened the door. She paused and turned back. “Sweet dreams.”

“Same to you,” he stepped closer and leaned over, kissing her lips, soft and quick, before stepping back and smiling at her. 

Anna smiled back and slowly shut the door, amazed again at how quickly her life was changing. Kristoff wasn’t the only one who felt lucky that they were sitting on that plane together a couple of days ago. 

*****

“Happy Birthday.”

“Thanks Elsa,” Anna said, pacing the room in her nightgown. Her sister had called first thing and Anna had to scramble out of bed to answer the phone.

“Where are you spending it this time?”

“Maui,” Anna responded.

A pause. “That’s nice.”

“Listen Elsa, I have a bunch of things planned today. Unless… you want to chat?” The hopefulness Anna heard in her own voice made her cringe.

“Oh, no, I better let you go. I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday and I hope you have a great day.”

“Well, thanks. You have a good day too.” Anna tried not to let the disappointment come through, but it had.

She thought her sister would hang up, but she could hear her breathing on the other end. After a pause, she spoke again.

“Listen, Anna. I know I’ve been a little less than accepting of your choices, and I regret that. I just wanted you to know that I miss you, and I hope when you are back that we can maybe get together and talk about things. Clear the air a little. I’ve felt I’ve made a lot of mistakes and I want the opportunity to correct them.”

Definitely something she would have never thought her sister would say. Maybe it was a birthday miracle. “Sure, Elsa. I would like that.”

“I really do hope you have a wonderful Birthday. I hope it’s a special one for you, Anna.”

She thought about spending it with Kristoff and knew it would be. “It will be wonderful Elsa, thanks.”

“I love you, Anna. I hope you know that.”

“I do. And I love you too.”

“Enjoy yourself, okay?”

“I will,” Anna answered, and hung up.

Maybe Elsa was finally coming around. Anna hadn’t told her sister yet about her decision to smarten up and quit travelling to start something for her future, so as far as she was concerned, Anna was going to continue being a fuck-up. If Elsa could accept her at that, then maybe things would finally be okay between them.

*****

Kristoff never wished her a Happy Birthday, but it didn’t bother her at all. She had only mentioned it once in a jumble of words after all, and although she had originally planned to take herself to a fancy dinner or something, she was just as happy to spend it with Kristoff, even if it was helping him with a home-cooked meal.

He told her he had the day planned for them and took her to the aquarium first. Anna thought it was adorable how excited he was. Museums and things like that were always the top of her list to see and do and it seemed that Kristoff enjoyed them as well. He talked a lot while they were there, casually mentioning that he made point to come every year. Anna could tell it was one of his favorite things.

For lunch he took her to a place off the beach that had ‘ _the best seafood’_ in Kristoff’s opinion. Anna ordered a macadamia nut crusted Mahi Mahi and actually thought she had died and gone to heaven, it tasted so good. Kristoff laughed about how fast she inhaled it and then ordered them another one to split, telling her that since he watched her eat, it made him want to try it. Anna blushed crimson and apologized for not offering him a bite, but he brushed her off with a smile and a blush of his own, then admitted that he was still a little hungry anyway. They did split it and Anna was delighted again, with the meal, and watching Kristoff enjoy it too. 

After lunch they walked the beach back to Kristoff’s to change into swim suits to burn off some energy in the water. Anna loved being in the ocean and teased Kristoff mercilessly by splashing water in his face. He laughed, taking it all with good humor, but as soon as Anna had her back turned, he grabbed her under her legs and arms and tossed her out into the water. She came up, choking on the water because she was laughing so much, and Kristoff laughed right along with her as he swam over. They called it a truce, all while unable to stop giggling.

They were both having so much fun on the beach that they decided to ditch the afternoon plans and spent hours swimming and sun-bathing. When the sun finally started to lower in the sky, Kristoff suggested they head back up and get ready for dinner. He told her he wanted to take her to a new place he hadn’t tried yet, if she was up for it that was. 

Anna definitely was and she showered and changed into her favorite turquoise sundress and strappy sandals. She wasn’t sure if it was s fancy place, but she thought she looked well enough to fit in most anywhere. 

When Kristoff looked over as she entered his place, his eyes widened, scanning her length, and his mouth hung open, filling Anna with giggles and heating her face.

He was a vision himself, in a pair of tan pants with flip flops and one of those flowy, white cotton shirts that were worn untucked with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the top couple of buttons left undone. That combination with his sandy blond hair and sun-kissed skin, was incredibly sexy.

It was a short walk, he told her, so they strolled down the sidewalk hand in hand. When they got there, he led her up a set of stairs outside and into the small restaurant. It was dimly lit and had more of a romantic feel. Kristoff told the hostess that the reservation was under _Bjorgman_ and after a quick consultation to the list, looked up with a smile and told them to follow her.

She led them around the bar and into the middle of a restaurant. Anna quickly scanned her surroundings with Kristoff right behind her. The place was lovely; just the type of dining experience she had in mind. 

They were led over to the windows where there was a view of the ocean. As soon as the hostess stopped, Anna suddenly realized there was something different about their table. On it sat a bouquet of Hawaiian flowers and a small beautifully wrapped box. 

Anna stopped, frozen, unable to process. She turned around to Kristoff and he was smiling sheepishly at her.

“Happy Birthday.”

“This… this is for me?”

He nodded. “I am really sorry for not wishing you Happy Birthday this morning, but I wanted this to be a surprise.”

“Well color me surprised,” Anna grinned and pulled Kristoff into a hug. He hugged her back tight and they both let out a happy sigh in each other’s ears.

They sat themselves at the table and Anna admired every single flower. They smelled amazing and she found herself leaning over often to sniff the delightful scents. Kristoff had kept quiet, but she could tell he wanted her to open the box. She wanted to open it too, but she was still a little taken aback by his kindness and had to process it a bit, because she feared she would burst into tears at any moment.

He did not push, so they ordered drinks and Calamari as an appetizer before Anna grabbed it and asked if it was okay if she opened it. He smiled wide and nodded, so Anna unwrapped the beautiful box. She lifted the lid to find a beautiful silver bracelet.

She took it out of the box and put it in her palm, looking at the flat piece in the middle of the delicate chain, noticing it was engraved. She read it and didn’t understand. As soon as she looked up at Kristoff, he started talking.

“They’re Hawaiian proverbs,” he smiled. _“’Imi ola,_ means to seek best life, being that our purpose in life, is to seek its highest form. The second one, _‘Ike loa,_ us the value of learning, that we learn, grow and expand into greater love and harmony as we walk up the Mountain of Life. And the third, _Ka la hiki ola_ , is the dawning of a new day; the value of hope and promise. They are some of my favorite ones and I thought that maybe, they might be as much of an inspiration for you as they are to me.”

Anna blinked at him, stunned by his gesture and the beautiful way the language rolled off his tongue in perfect pronunciation. She was suddenly choked by emotion. 

“Do, you like it?” he asked quietly.

Anna realized she was still staring at him again and she pulled in a shaky breath, trying not to cry. “This is the most beautiful gift I have ever been given Kristoff,” she said, voice thick with the emotion burning in her throat.

His face softened to realize that she was on the verge of tears and he got up without a word and walked over to her chair, pulling her up and into a tender embrace. Anna wrapped herself tightly around him and swallowed painfully. She didn’t want to ruin her make up. She wanted to have a nice birthday dinner and not be an emotional mess, so she took three deep breaths and released her tight grip on Kristoff. He chuckled when she pulled back up to look at him and his face dipped down to hers to give her a soft kiss on the lips. It was exactly what Anna needed.

After he straightened, he reached down for her hand and secured the beautiful bracelet on her wrist. Anna marvelled again at the heartfelt gift. 

“Thank you, Kristoff. Thank you for this beautiful gift, and this,” her eyes swept over the table and the bracelet again, “this incredible gesture.”

“Well,” he shrugged and moved back to the other side of the table to sit down. “You only turn thirty once, right?”

“How did you spend your thirtieth?” Anna asked as she took her own seat. 

He suddenly looked confused. “I haven’t had it yet, I’m only twenty-eight,” he said.

Anna’s eyes flew open wide and her mouth dropped in disbelief. She should not have assumed… just because he was… well, he didn’t exactly look obviously over thirty… he could pass for twenty-five even… and wait, how the hell was she older than him?... She could have _sworn_ that-

Kristoff roared with laugher, startling her a little.

“You should see your face!” he laughed. “I totally had you going!”

“Well,” Anna stammered, cheeks lighting on fire, “You could be, I mean, you have that youthful look about you, I thought you were serious!”

“I’m not twenty-eight,” he said, still chuckling. “I’m thirty-three, and to answer your question, I spent my thirtieth working.”

“Oh boo,” she said, starting to giggle with him. His eyes were sparkling with happiness and it made Anna’s heart flutter. 

“Ah, it was okay. I was with a crew in South Dakota taking photos of the cave systems and they took me out for late-night drinks. I got so loaded I almost missed the bus out in the morning. But I managed to drag my hungover ass out of bed and I barely got there on time. I was such a mess. My shirt was around my neck, my belt was undone and I was tripping over my loose pants, trying to stuff my camera in the bag as I ran over to the bus. Boy, I got a lot of teasing for that,” he laughed.

Anna laughed with him, picturing it all in her mind. She loved it when he told stories about his travels. She had heard plenty of them, but she wondered how many more there were to hear. She suddenly worried, that she might not be on Maui long enough to hear them all.

 _Not tonight,_ she told herself. _It’s your birthday. Worry about that tomorrow._

Anna looked over at the flowers as he took a sip of his glass of wine. “Can I ask, Kristoff, how you found the time to do all this? We have barely left each other’s side since I got here.”

“Sven helped me out,” Kristoff smiled. “I told him what I had wanted to get and he went and did it for me.”

“That’s so sweet, Kristoff. Your gift, and that Sven helped you out to make it a surprise. I hope you know how much I appreciate this. This whole day in fact. I couldn’t ask for a better birthday.”

“I’m glad, Anna. You deserve it,” he smiled.

*****

Kristoff carried the vase of flowers and held Anna’s hand as they strolled slowly back to Kristoff’s place. They hadn’t spoken since leaving the restaurant, but they had talked so much over their long meal, that the quiet was welcomed. 

When they got in to the Condo, Kristoff set the vase on the table and turned around. “I hope you had a great Birthday Anna,” he smiled.

“Best of my life so far, hands down,” she said, walking up to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. He folded his arms gently around her shoulders and looked down at her.

Anna thought that he was going to say something else, but whatever he’d been thinking, he abandoned it in favor of leaning his face down to hers and kissing her. 

Anna knew that as long as there was breath in her, she would never, ever tire of the feel of his lips against hers. It stoked a fire inside of her and she let Kristoff know how much she wanted him, how much she needed him. She opened the floodgates and let that passion finally take over. Kristoff matched her pace, hands moving up her back and into her hair, pulling her tighter against him.

His lips, his touch, his caress… it was too much and not enough. Anna’s mind was reeling with desire.

They stumbled into the bedroom, lips locked passionately together, pulling at each other’s clothes. Anna wanted him, she _needed_ him, more than anything else in her entire life. It was as if her sole purpose, had been to know what it was like to be loved by him. 

Suddenly he was pulling back, shaking his head. 

“Anna, Anna, wait,” he said quickly.

“What?” She asked, breathing hard.

It took him a second to catch his own breath. “I have to tell you, before we go too far Anna.”

“Tell me what?”

He pulled in a deep breath. “That I’ve fallen in love with you,” he said quickly. “But… I can’t be intimate with you, if we are just going to part ways. I don’t want to go that far, if you are just going to go back to New York and we never see each other again. That would be… too painful for me Anna. I’m sorry.”

Anna watched him for a second as his eyes scanned hers, begging to spare him. She smiled, because his emotions did not need to be spared.

“Kristoff, I love you too,” she was not surprised how easy the words came out. She had known it for some time. 

“You do?” he swallowed, eyes welling up with hope.

“Yes, I do. I love you. And I don’t know what my future holds. I have literally no idea what the hell I am going to do. But one thing that I _do know_ , is that I cannot have a future without you in it, no matter what that means for me.”

He nodded, showing all the emotion Anna was feeling inside, on his face. “We’ll figure it out Anna. We’ll figure it all out. Together.”

That thought filled her with hope, and calm, and an unstoppable need to have him. She leaned over and kissed him, and this time they did not stop.

*****

Anna watched him sleep. Tears slid slowly down her face as she let herself cry silently. She had waited until he had drifted off to let out her true emotion. She didn’t want to have to explain after they had made love (which was so far the most incredible experience in Anna’s life), why she was feeling emotional. She would talk to him about it later, but now she just wanted to let the happy, relieved tears falling in blissful quiet.

For the first time in her entire life, she felt home. She felt loved unconditionally. She felt _safe._ She suspected that she would leave her life in New York behind (welcomed the idea even), and that made her a little sad. She hoped that her sister would truly be proud of her, but the truth in her heart was, that she would accept it even if Elsa wasn’t, because now she had someone to love her the way she deserved to be loved.

The future was uncertain, but Anna was not afraid. She was excited. She could not wait to see where she would go. The more she thought about the things that she loved in life, the more she realized that she could easily make a living out of it. It would be hard work, she knew that, but she was more than ready to roll up her sleeves and make it happen. She owed it to herself and she intended to make good on her promise to help the parts of the world that were struggling.

Anna stopped her tears and pulled in a deep, calming breath. She looked at Kristoff again and knew that even if he hadn’t been romantically interested in her, he likely still would have offered the same kind words of encouragement and advice. If she had been destined to go back to New York and forge her own path, she knew that there would be nothing to stand in her way, ever again.

Anna leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Kristoff’s nose before she rolled over onto her side. He shifted behind her and pushed himself against her back, curling his arm around her waist. He hummed happily into her ear then resumed his slow and steady breathing.

She smiled and put her arm over his, snuggling herself closer to his warmth. A lifetime of searching had finally come to an end. Anna had finally found what she had been looking for.


	4. Epilogue

“Why are you so nervous?”

Anna looked at her fiancé. “Are you kidding? Do you even know me?”

Kristoff laughed. “Yes Anna, I do know you, but you patched things up with Elsa, remember? There is no reason to be worried.”

“You don’t know her like I do. She never travels. _Never_. I can’t even believe she agreed to come down here.”

“You didn’t think she’d come to her own sister’s wedding? Even after you guys put the past behind you?”

Anna looked at him dead in the eye. “To be quite honest with you, no.”

Kristoff frowned. “That’s pretty sad actually.”

“Tell me about it,” Anna mumbled, keeping a watch on the gate for passengers to start appearing. 

“Well, I saw how you two were those couple times that we went back to New York. I know I didn’t know her before but she seemed genuinely supportive. I think things will be fine.”

“I’m just worried she is going to ruin this for me,” Anna frowned, eyes never leaving the gate.

“Ruin? How would she ruin it?”

“By being Elsa,” Anna sighed. “I could tell she was extremely reluctant to come down here, even though she was trying her best to hide it. She has this thing, I think, about being away from home. I just hope she doesn’t make this about her, like always. That, and did you know she hates the sun.”

“ _Hates_ the sun?”

“Well, not the sun itself, but being out in it. She likes her apartment, and court rooms, and library’s, and basically anything but being outside. She _loves_ winter. How is she going to deal with this? Sit inside while we eat on the deck? Or do we have to eat inside because she’ll refuse to go out?”

“I can hang a tarp over the pergola. Then it would be in the shade.”

“I swear to God that woman is going to melt in this heat…”

“Well now you’re just muttering to yourself.”

Anna looked over and blinked at him a second before she started laughing. “Holy crap I am doing it again,” she shook her head. 

“Well,” Kristoff shrugged. “We didn’t have to do this here, you know. We could have just gone to New York, or Colorado.”

“But I thought you said you wanted your family to see our new house,” Anna said, suddenly wondering if Kristoff was holding back his true feelings from her. 

“I do, but I don’t want to make you nuts, Anna. If it was easier for you to just get married in New York I would have been fine with that. I told you, my family was cool travelling to wherever we decided to have the ceremony.”

“It doesn’t matter anyway,” Anna shook her head firmly and looked back to where people had started to emerge from the gate. “This is _my_ wedding and I will be dammed if I am going to let anyone ruin it. After all, I didn’t even think she’d come, so her being a party pooper and hanging out in her room is not going to bother me.”

“Well,” Kristoff dragged out the word and Anna knew right away he had that _you’ll be eating your words_ tone. “I think you are in for a surprise. From my perspective, Elsa is really trying to make her own changes.”

Anna didn’t respond. She knew he was right. He was always right when it came to practical thinking. Anna knew she was just still a little gun shy in dealing with Elsa, that was all. 

Anna had done the same thing when they went to New York to gather all Anna’s things for the move to Maui. She had freaked out and been a nervous wreck the whole flight, and Kristoff had to remind her, constantly, that all her talks on the phone with Elsa had been positive. Anna had reminded him that he did not know Elsa like she did, and she bet him that Elsa wouldn’t even hug her when they knocked on her door.

She did end up eating her words then, because as soon as Elsa opened the door, she pulled Anna into a fierce embrace. Anna did not have to look at Kristoff to know he was smirking, knowing that he was right and he had won their bet. 

That whole week had been surreal. It was as if someone had kidnapped Elsa and replaced her with a friendly, accommodating, identical twin. That first night, after Kristoff had excused himself early for bed (Anna knowing full well it was because he wanted her to talk to her sister), Elsa had finally admitted that she had been too hard on Anna. She told her, that in all her nagging for Anna to change, she realized that she herself hadn’t done anything other than what she knew.

Elsa even admitted that she envied and admired Anna, that she knew she herself would never have the guts to travel the world like Anna did. Probably couldn’t even get herself on a plane if she tried. 

They spent half the night talking until they were both yawning and glassy-eyed. They hugged each other goodnight and as soon as Anna was safely tucked away in the guest bedroom, she broke down in Kristoff’s arms. 

He held her, gently stroking her hair, whispering words of comfort to her as she sobbed quietly. She cried about the time she would never get back with Elsa. She cried about her parents not being around to meet the love of her life. She cried with happiness for the future. It was a jumble of emotions, brought out by finally feeling like she had a sister again.

When Anna stopped crying, she explained to him that Elsa said she was committed to change and that she was going to make an effort. Kristoff never once said ‘I told you so’. He nodded and smiled and said he was so happy that Anna finally had peace within her family. 

And while Elsa certainly gave herself an attitude adjustment, Anna knew her little idiosyncrasies would always be with her. Anna could see her wedding pictures now, Elsa at her side, trying to protect her fragile complexion by covering her bridesmaid gown with a wrap and a wearing giant floppy hat that could not help but be the focal point of the photo. 

Anna sighed and Kristoff leaned over and put his arm around her shoulders. 

“It won’t be that bad,” he said, and kissed her temple.

Anna was about to respond when she spotted her sister. Her head was covered in a scarf and Anna was unsurprised to see that she was in a long dress with a cardigan covering her arms. 

“We shouldn’t have taken the Jeep,” Anna said suddenly, quiet enough to only be heard by Kristoff.

“She can sit up front,” he responded in a tone that suggested he was finally feeling the nerves that Anna was. 

*****

The entire twenty-minute ride to their house in Kihei, Anna watched her sister’s stoic frame from the back seat. Anna loved the wind whipping her hair all around, but she knew Elsa would have been less than impressed with it. None of them had said a single word the entire drive. Hard with the speed they were going down the highway, but even if they’d been in a car with a top, would they have talked? Anna honestly had no idea. She was sure Kristoff would have started the ball rolling, then fallen silent. That was what he had done the first time they had gone back to New York together. 

Elsa had pulled her and Kristoff into a hug when she spotted them at the gate. Anna was glad for that at least and took it as a good sign, but she could tell how tense her sister was as soon as she wrapped her arms around her shoulders. Anna wondered if it was because of the flight, or the fact that she was now off the plane at her destination. Was her stress over, or just starting? Things with her sister were finally good, but was Elsa going to be too uncomfortable with the heat, and the travel, to remain considerate? Anna had to wonder if she might revert back to some of her previous harshness about how others chose to live their lives.

Anna sighed, knowing she should take it a little easier on Elsa since this was her first time leaving Manhattan in twenty years. She knew if she were in her sister’s position, she would have the same anxiety, but dammit, Anna was just sick and tired of everything being about Elsa. She just hoped her sister could be the bigger person for once. Anna had, for her all those years after all, ignored all the sneers and the condescending stares and the endless words of her _advice_.

At least now Elsa was proud of her. That was something that gave Anna a great sense of peace at least. She had started her own company, helped Kristoff with his (well, _their_ ) home studio, and created an App that was about to launch in a short month’s time. She had even started to make good on the promises to herself and had donated a large sum and started a fund-raising campaign to build schools in Africa, with many more plans to help all around the world as soon as more money started to come in.

Kristoff pulled the Jeep into their driveway and killed the engine. “Welcome to our home,” he smiled at Elsa and turned over his shoulder to smile even wider at Anna. 

Anna loved him so much. He could put her at ease with a simple beautiful smile of encouragement.

He got out and began to grab Elsa’s bags from the back, so Anna decided to take her sister up to the house. They went up the few steps and Anna opened the door and stepped inside. She led her sister into the living room first. It was her favorite room of the house, because it was where Anna had decided to showcase Kristoff’s talent. She had picked out a different frame to match the mood and theme of every photograph and had hung _dozens_ of them on any available wall space. Kristoff had laughed as Anna was completing her project, telling her that if she didn’t stop there wouldn’t be an inch of wall left. He was exaggerating of course, and Anna had giggled with him while she carried on with the decorating. When all was said and done, it was beautiful. Not too much, but still _plenty_ to look at. She had hung Kristoff’s favorites, her favorites of his, and at Kristoff’s insistence, some of her own photos.

“Wow,” Elsa said behind her, following Anna into the room. “This is beautiful.”

Kristoff came in the front door, muscling Elsa’s huge bag through the door with her carry on and laptop bags slung over his shoulder. He passed through the living room and went up the stairs to put her things in one of the guest bedrooms.

Anna looked quickly around her house to make sure everything was still clean and in its place as Elsa slowly walked around looking at the photos. Kristoff came down the stairs and stood by Anna just as Elsa was turning her eyes back to them.

“You… took all these?” Elsa asked Kristoff, as her eyes scanned the entire room again.

“Um, yeah, most of them. That one over there, the sunrise over Stonehenge, and this collection of shots from Alaska,” Kristoff gestured with his arm, “were all taken by Anna. Oh, and all the Maui ones are all hers too.”

“Really?”

Kristoff nodded. “The Maui ones are actually my favorites. They are way better than any of mine. She has a way of seeing the beauty in this island that goes unnoticed, even by me.”

“You both have incredible talent,” Elsa said, looking around at the pictures again. “Thank you again for letting me stay here with you.”

“No problem, please, it’s our pleasure,” Anna answered.

“And I understand Kristoff, that your family is staying here too?”

“Oh, yes, but just my parents. We don’t have enough beds for all my siblings, so they are staying in the rental.”

“Oh, is that were you used to live? Anna told me you decided to keep it after you bought here.”

Kristoff nodded. “That’s the one. It’s been doing quite well actually. We had to rent an extra unit across the hall to fit everyone, but it got us into thinking about investing in another one since the income is pretty good. It would be nice to have a little extra every month to grow Anna’s companies and help fund her projects.”

Elsa met Anna’s eyes and she was shocked when her sister smiled, almost looking on the verge of tears.

“That is wonderful. _This_ is wonderful. Thank you again, both of you, for letting me stay here.”

“Anytime, Elsa,” Kristoff said, answering for them both. He knew Anna was emotional. He had picked up on it as easy as if she had looked at him directly in the eye and said she might cry to hear Elsa talk to proudly about her again.

She loved Kristoff more than he would ever understand. He often said the same about her, and they liked to argue about it while they kissed and made love. Anna smiled at the thought, reaching out to grab Kristoff’s hand. He gave her an encouraging squeeze.

“Well, I’ll give you the rest of the tour,” Anna said, “And show you to your room.”

Elsa nodded with a smile. “Sounds lovely, Anna. Thank you.”

Anna showed Elsa to their home office where Anna had started her travel agency business and where Kristoff booked and organized his work. She then took her down the hall, past the powder room, to the sunny laundry room. She wasn’t sure why she was even showing it to Elsa, but she was proud of their house and wanted her sister to know where everything was. 

After that they went upstairs and Anna showed Elsa to her guest room first. She told her sister that Kristoff’s parents were staying in the room right next to hers and there was a bathroom down the hall. She then took Elsa into their master bedroom.

She noticed Elsa look at the familiar world map with a bunch of tacks stuck in it, but this time instead of sneering, she smiled. Anna knew it wasn’t because of the identical map beside it with Kristoff’s name on it and all his tacks, or the one on the end that had nothing stuck in it yet. It was because her sister had finally accepted the path that Anna had decided to forge in life.

Anna sighed quietly with relief and quickly showed Elsa their ensuite bathroom to complete the tour and then told her they could have a drink if she was interested. Elsa hugged her sister tight and said that she would be delighted.

*****

Anna walked out onto the deck and shook her head, smiling wide at seeing Kristoff and his ingenuity. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing I never did make those curtains.”

“I know right?” he laughed. “This is perfect for the pergola. It’s heavy too, so the shade is great. Maybe we should think doing something like this permanently. It’s actually kind of nice not having my eyes burned out every time I come out here.”

Anna nodded, smiling, looking up at the way he had laid the fabric perfectly even between the slats of wood. “Your perfectionist nature strikes again,” she muttered, looking over at him.

He gave her a quick smile for their little inside joke. “So, Elsa is….?”

“Oh, just in the shower. She said she would come sit down and have a drink with us afterwards.”

“Out here? Or should we just go inside?”

“Actually, she said she’d like to see the yard, so looks like we’re good to enjoy the outdoors.”

Kristoff could have said something along the lines of ‘ _see, I told you that she’d be fine’,_ or _‘I knew you were overacting Anna’,_ but he didn’t breathe a word. He walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. Anna sighed against his body, pushing herself so far into his chest he had to stagger backwards a step with a chuckle. 

They held each other for a while, just feeling each other breath, when Kristoff finally loosened his grip. 

“I checked and the flights are right on time. My family will be here in about an hour. Are you sure you’re still okay with doing the dinner here? We can just freeze that meat and take them out instead. It would be easier,” he smiled at her and raised his eyebrows for emphasis. 

Anna laughed. “No silly, we are doing the first night here. Pretty much every other night is catered, or in a restaurant, or touch and go. I want at least one chance to showcase my mad kitchen skills.”

“You are amazing, you know that right?”

“Yup,” Anna grinned and tiptoed up to kiss his nose. “And so are you, because we both know you are the better cook and is going to be you doing most of the work tonight.”

Kristoff shook his head and rolled his eyes upward playfully as he chuckled. It was a joke between them, competing over their meal-making abilities. Truth was, they were both good. Kristoff had taught Anna what he knew, and she had done the same. Between them they made great food. But, neither of them had fed so many before. There was Elsa, Kristoff’s parents Cliff and Bulda, his three adopted sisters with their husbands, five children, and Sven and Lilly. It was a lot, but Anna was confident they could pull it off.

She went about helping Kristoff set up the deck with more chairs when Elsa came out onto the deck, and to Anna’s surprise, had rid herself of her cardigan and scarf, choosing only a pair of sunglasses instead.

“Oh, this is nice,” Elsa said, looking up at the fabric. “It’s a lot cooler in the shade.”

Anna laughed. She did have to agree that a little shade was actually nice, but there was still plenty of room in the front of the deck where the fabric didn’t quite stretch all the way that she could still sit in the sun if she wanted. 

“What’s that building?” Elsa said, pointing behind Anna.

Anna looked over her shoulder, then back at Elsa. “Oh, that’s the studio. Want to see it?”

“Sure,” Elsa said, following Anna out onto the big lawn and across the trimmed grass to the square building.

Anna opened the door and Elsa sighed with delight in the cool space. The heavy room-darkening window shades has been drawn and the air conditioning was on low, keeping the humidity and heat out of the room to protect all the equipment.

“Well, this is it,” Anna said, standing in the middle of the square room, gesturing broadly around it with her arms. It was no bigger than a double car garage (they had actually used the framing kit for one to build it), but it was just enough space to be functional. 

“So, this is where Kristoff takes family pictures?”

“Yup. Families, baby pictures, portraits, head-shots, pretty much anything a client would want.”

“And you help him?”

Anna nodded. “I’m pretty good with getting the little ones to smile, so I help out on those as much as I can, but most of the time I’m working.”

“Why, may I ask, did Kristoff decide to stop being freelance?”

“The travel. He only took two work trips before we both realized that we were completely miserable without each other. I went with him on his next three contracts, just as an assistant kind of deal so we didn’t have to spend the time apart, and then he decided that since I was starting my business here, he wanted to stay home with me.”

“And how is your business doing?”

“Actually, it’s doing amazing. I was a little worried that since Maui itself is a vacation destination no one would be interested in a travel agent, but I’ve been very busy. If I can keep my growth on track I want to open a satellite branch in New York.”

“That’s great, Anna. And you have an App you designed too?”

Anna nodded. “A travel companion App. I know there’s a lot of those out there, but I designed it to be user friendly and it has a track feature that will automatically update and you can see all the places you’ve stayed in.”

“Kind of like tacks in a world map poster?” Elsa smiled.

“Exactly,” Anna laughed, “And it will have a feature too where users can post their locations, only if they want of course, and see who else is visiting in the area and where they’re from.”

“Like if I was using the feature it would show I’m in Maui?”

“Yes,” Anna nodded, “And what nation we are from too, but that’s also an option. You can post that you are an anonymous traveller, or you can post that you are from America, or Canada, or the UK, or anywhere. Maybe make a friend while you’re travelling sort of thing. And there’s a chat feature so that you can post questions, or even just a recommendation, and then other travellers can comment.”

“Amazing,” Elsa said, looking around the studio again. “This is all so amazing.” She looked back at Anna. “Will you keep travelling, when your businesses are set up, and you and Kristoff have some free time?”

“Oh definitely. Kristoff and I were talking about that the other day actually. We both said when we have kids that we want to make sure we take them to cool places as often as we can.”

“Kids?” Elsa’s eyes lit up. “You are going to have kids?”

“Well, yeah,” Anna said, a little confused. “You didn’t think we would?”

“Oh, I was hoping you would,” Elsa smiled bright, walking closer to Anna. “I just wasn’t sure what your future plans were, and since I’ve been such a bear about your choices in the past, I was a little too ashamed of myself to ask.”

Anna stepped forward and hugged her sister. “That’s all in the past now, okay? Water under the bridge. Plus, I know back then you were trying to just give me advice, even if you didn’t quite know how to give it.”

Elsa nodded, knowing it was the truth. “Thank you, Anna. I appreciate that. And I will visit often. This island is very beautiful. Too hot for me,” she laughed. “But such a lovely place to vacation.”

“Thanks, Elsa. And we’ll be making frequent trips back to New York too. We may live pretty far apart, but I want us all to be close, and I want out kids to know their Auntie Elsa. Now come on, we better get back up to the house. Kristoff’s family will be here soon.”

“Are they nice people? I hope they treat you well.”

“Oh Elsa, they are amazing people, and they are very warm and loving. They have welcomed me into their family with open arms and I am grateful to belong to such a beautiful group.”

“That is good to hear. I am so glad and I am very happy to meet them too.”

Anna smiled and led her sister back to the house. Kristoff poured them each a glass of wine and they chit chatted to past the time. 

Then the doorbell rang and Kristoff and Anna looked at each other. she could see it all in his eyes. _Are you ready for this?_

Anna smiled at him and nodded, then they both went to open the door.

*****

Chaos. There was no other word.

Even to Anna and Kristoff, who had found themselves in many different, excited, celebratory situations all over the world, it was a bit much. 

Anna knew her fiancé’s family was boisterous, but she was inexperienced in the ways of Bjorgman celebration, and to them, what better way for a family to let loose and party than to toast their only son finally getting married.

The best way to describe the noise was ruckus laughter. Even Elsa, much to Anna’s surprise, was chuckling along with everyone. There were jokes and stories going on everywhere. Everyone mingled. The three toddlers and two kids played happily on the lawn under the careful watch of any adult that happened to be standing in the back yard.

After dinner, Anna had to disappear upstairs. It was too much all at once; too much happiness, and she felt the tears press so painfully on her eyes that she needed to take a quiet breath to herself. She knew Kristoff’s family from their frequent visits to Colorado and Seattle (where two of his sisters had moved), but those were all smaller get-togethers with no more than six to eight at the table.

But this… this was 18 mouths to feed. This was 18 voices and 18 different kinds of laughter. This was the biggest family get-together that Anna had ever experienced. This was one of the greatest nights of her life.

Kristoff came quietly into the room and pulled her into a hug without a word. He held her tight, just like she needed. She had no idea how he was able to read her so easy. He had been in a deep conversation with one of his brothers-in-law, when Anna had slipped quietly away and ascended the stairs. How he knew she had disappeared, she would likely never know. He slowly released her as soon as she had her emotions under control.

“Thanks,” she said, looking up into his gorgeous brown eyes.

“Anytime,” he said, then leaned down to kiss her.

*****

Anna woke early, thinking about life and family. 

It was a late night, but Anna knew she would not be able to sleep any longer. She gently lifted Kristoff’s arm from her waist and slid to the edge of the bed. She dressed and did her morning routine in their bathroom before tiptoeing downstairs to start some coffee.

She grabbed a book and sat on the couch in the living room waiting for the wake-up juice to brew, not at all surprised when she heard the bottom stair creak. They both did this, when one of them tried to quietly leave the bed. It was like there was something in their bodies that knew, even in sleep, that the bed was empty. They were both helpless to seek each other out.

She looked up at Kristoff and smiled. “Good morning,” she whispered.

“Good morning,” he said quietly and grinned, putting his palm on the arm of the couch and bracing himself as he leaned over and kissed her.

Anna watched him straighten then walk to the kitchen where the coffee was just finishing and poured them each a cup; his black and Anna’s with cream and sugar. He handed Anna her mug and sat beside her.

“So, last night was nuts.”

“It was,” Anna laughed quietly. “But Kristoff, it was so great. I love having our families together, even though mine only consists of Elsa and I.”

“Your sister was having a blast.”

“I know,” Anna shook her head, smiling. “I… she’s just turned right around and I am really proud of her for doing that.”

“Well, I think she saw that you were committed to change and it inspired her.”

“You think?” Anna scrunched her nose. She had never had an influence over Elsa. Anna had just assumed that since their heart to heart, Elsa was simply making an effort to make up for the lost time between them.

Kristoff smiled at her and nodded. “You are a very inspiring person Anna. You are more determined than anyone I have ever met. Look at your business. Look at how fast it’s grown. And your App is going to be a hit, I just know it. This is exactly what I knew you could accomplish.”

“Well,” Anna smirked. “Not to toot my own horn, but I am pretty proud of myself.”

“I’m proud of you too, Anna. Your whole family is proud of you.”

Anna knew Kristoff meant his family as well. She had grown so close to all of them in such a short time. All the kids were calling her Auntie Anna, and it was such a great feeling. She loved it, but she could not wait until a tiny voice was calling her _Mommy._ Anna had already gone off the pill months ago and they were waiting until after they were married (she knew for a fact that they would be sneaking off to their room for a tryst before the night was over), to officially start trying. 

Anna leaned over and kissed him. He kissed her back, letting it deepen, until they heard someone walk around upstairs. 

Kristoff pulled back from her lips. “Guarantee that’s my Dad.”

Anna giggled. “Well, we better start on some breakfast. When are your sisters and their families coming over again?”

Kristoff pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at the time. “T minus forty-three minutes.”

“Alright, let’s get cooking,” Anna smiled.

Kristoff leaned over and kissed her again. “I love you Anna. More than you’ll ever know.”

“I love you too, Kristoff. More than _you_ will ever know.”

*****

The three days leading up to the wedding were a complete whirlwind. Between entertaining their company and making sure everything was set for the backyard ceremony, time simply vanished.

When Kristoff suggesting hosting the wedding in their own backyard and doing a luau style feast, Anna was enthralled with the idea. She had fallen in love with Polynesian culture ever since Kristoff took her to her first luau a few days after her thirtieth birthday, and it had inspired her. The first thing she made sure of when they were buying their house was that the back yard was big enough to host a feast of their own, and that there was enough space to put an Imu to make the main dish of a luau; the Kalua Pig. At that first luau Kristoff took her to, Anna had been hanging on every word hearing about the ‘earth ovens’ and the preparations involved in roasting the traditional dish.

That dish they wanted to handle themselves, but the caterers did everything else and were making traditional Hawaiian dishes along with some of their family’s favorites. There was also going to be plenty of fresh seafood and Anna knew there were going to be tons of leftovers. She was excited that the catering company said they left all the extra food with the client since they paid for it and she was looking forward to enjoy Kristoff as a husband for the next couple of days and not have to worry about cooking.

Since Anna was still very much involved with her companies and Kristoff had a couple of shoots booked the week after, they both decided to postpone a honeymoon. They would just stay in their paradise and take it easy for a week before getting back into the swing of life. Any place they could have gone, one or both of them had been before anyway, so they decided to wait until life wasn’t so busy before thinking about taking another vacation. Anna hoped, that the next one they took, would be a Babymoon instead of a Honeymoon anyway. 

The morning of the _big day_ finally came, Anna had woken early, filled with excited anticipation. She woke Kristoff up in her favorite (sensual) way, and when he was ready, she slowly lowered herself down on his length and they made quiet love, whispering their devotions for the future.

Kristoff had not stopped smiling at her all day. In fact, everyone in her family had been smiling all day, and it filled her heart with joy. She could not wait for the moment that she could officially call Kristoff her husband, and herself his wife. 

Anna took over the Master bedroom to ready with Elsa and Lily, while Kristoff, Sven and his Dad got ready in their home office. Anna had thought it was simply adorable when Kristoff asked if it was okay that he asked his Dad to be a groomsman. _He shaped me into the man I am today, and I want to honor him_ , Kristoff had told her. She had cried, and of course told him that it was okay. His other request (well it was more of a timid suggestion, which he admitted was certainly untraditional), was that his mother walk Anna down the aisle. Anna _loved_ the idea. She had come to think of Bulda as a mother, and when she told Bulda she would be honored, the short, loud woman started sobbing with happiness. 

Everything was set and ready. The ladies were in their dresses, hair and makeup done. Anna knew the boys would be having a beer, waiting until it was time to start. The lawn was decorated, rows of white chairs stood waiting to be filled, family and friends lingered on the lawn all ready for the celebration…

Anna pulled in a deep breath and let it out slowly as she stared down at the yard from the master bedroom.

“Are you nervous?” Lily asked, smiling at Anna.

“No, just really anxious. I want to start,” she laughed. “I want to marry my man!”

“God, you two are so in love,” Lily shook her head. “I remember when Sven and I were that way.”

“Don’t kid yourself,” Anna smiled. “That man is head over heels in love with you. You should see the way he looks at you when he knows you’re not paying attention.”

Lily sighed happily. “He is everything to me.” 

“You guys are awesome together.”

Lily’s eyes widened and she walked closer to Anna with an excited expression. “Can I tell you a secret?” she whispered.

“Yes,” Anna said, quiet but excited. She knew exactly what Lily was going to say.

“I’m pregnant!” Lily squeaked. 

“Oh Lily! I am so happy for you guys!” Anna pulled her friend into a hug, blinking at the ceiling, trying not to cry. “How far along?”

“Only six weeks, but we’re waiting until the first trimester if over to tell anyone. But I just had to tell you Anna. You’re my best friend!”

Anna swallowed the painful lump in her throat. She knew she was going to be emotional today, but she was not prepared for just how much. She supposed she would have cried no matter what, but today it was harder not to.

“Oh Anna, I’m sorry. I don’t want to ruin your makeup. I should have waited until after today. That was thoughtless of me.”

“It’s fine Lily, really,” Anna blinked away the tears. “I am just so happy for you. I know you’ve been trying for a while. Congratulations. And you will keep me posted right?”

“Of course,” Lily smiled, her own tears shimmering in her eyes.

“Now I know why you haven’t been drinking lately,” Anna laughed, lightening the mood and making them both smile. 

Elsa walked out of the bathroom then, and both her and Lily turned. She was in the simple turquoise dress that Anna had picked out, her hair done up in a bun, and nothing covering her skin.

“Oh Elsa,” Anna said, walking over and hugging her sister. “You look wonderful.”

“Not as wonderful as you,” Elsa smiled, hugging her back. “Sorry if I stink of sun-screen. I just didn’t want to ruin your photos by covering up like I normally do.”

“You smell like summer,” Anna smiled, pulling back and putting her palms on Elsa’s shoulders. “And thank you.”

Elsa nodded and the three women started their last-minute touches. It wasn’t long before there was a knock on the door and Bulda came into the room, telling them it was time. 

They all went downstairs and Anna waited by the screen door to the back yard, carefully hiding her view from Kristoff. She did not want to set her eyes on him until she set foot on the linen that ran down the lawn as an aisle. 

Music started and Elsa left first, followed a few seconds later by Lily, then all of the sudden Bulda was grabbing Anna’s elbow and she felt a sudden rush of emotions that made her want to cry again. She looked into Bulda’s eyes, into her knowing smile, and it gave her strength to take a calming breath and swallow the painful lump in her throat. The music changed to a softer tempo and Anna knew it was time.

She held onto her future mother-in-law for dear life, keeping her eyes down until her foot finally touched the white linen. When she brought them up, she was not prepared for what she saw in Kristoff’s gaze. Her tears came mercilessly, to see him on the verge of tears himself.

Even though they were both looking at each other through a watery gaze, their eyes never once left each other’s. Anna stood in front of him, blindly handing her bouquet to Elsa, then took his offered hands all while witnessing the deep devotion to each other shining in their eyes from the deepest parts of their very souls.

Anna was suddenly very relieved that they had decided to forgo writing their own vows. They had planned to write their own, but every time Anna tried to put her deep feelings for Kristoff into words, she broke down crying. She knew Kristoff was done with his, and she had gone to him, after four weeks of trying and failing, sobbing that she was unable to do it. Kristoff held her and had told her that he would prefer to keep his feelings for her private anyway, then he had whispered his entire memorized vows into her ear. Anna had cried, of course, but afterwards they made love for hours.

Anna smiled at the memory. Kristoff smiled back, and she wondered if maybe he was thinking of the same night. 

They repeated all the words they were required to, meaning every single one of them, then when the time came to sign the papers, Anna found herself incredibly inpatient for it all to be over with. She was looking forward to what came after; being able to officially call Kristoff her husband, admiring the new ring on her finger, and the one on Kristoff’s, the celebration with family and friends, and the life they were about to live together. Sven and Elsa witnessed the signing, and then it was finally time to kiss. They did so with enthusiasm and everyone in attendance erupted with cheers. 

What followed was something that Anna knew she would never forget in her life as long as she lived. The night was magical. All the neighbors were invited to enjoy the feast, as a peace offering for the late noise that they had all happily accepted. The entire yard and house were packed and Anna and Kristoff made their rounds as best they could while people handed them drinks and food. The setting was very casual, which made it easy to flutter from group to group. All the kids were having an absolute blast, running all over the lawn. Drinks were plenty, food even more so, and there wasn’t a single person there who wasn’t smiling ear to ear.

As the night wore on, Kristoff managed to corner Anna as she came out of the bathroom in their room, and made quick love to her, braced against the wall with her legs wrapped around his hips; the first try of many to conceive. Anna knew she was a little too close to her period to hope, but she relished in the feeling of no buffer between them after the previous months being careful before the wedding. He brought her quick and wonderful release before he followed with his own.

Anna smoothed out her dress and followed Kristoff back down to the party, immediately accosted by well wishes and cheers for the happy newlyweds.

The party went until four in the morning. Anna and Kristoff, utterly exhausted, collapsed into bed around five. They woke around ten, hung-over, dehydrated, sore from standing all night, but happier than they had ever been in their lives. They both knew how truly special the night had been. 

Elsa, having gone to bed early, had already straightened out the kitchen and living room for them in the morning. Kristoff’s parents as well, had taken the time the night before to help with some of the clean up. People slowly started to filter into the house for food, and Anna and Kristoff were kicked out of the kitchen while a late breakfast was put together by a handful of family. 

Chairs were dragged into the living room, while others placed themselves on the floor, plates in laps, as everyone gathered around and started eating and talking. Sven and Cliff even stood at the edge of the room having run out of sitting space, but still very much interacted with everyone as they ate holding their plates. Everyone was smiling and very talkative.

Half way through the breakfast, Anna had looked over at Kristoff, surprised that he was already looking at her. It was all in his eyes; this was the best part of life. Family, and friends, were the heart of it all. Anna smiled at him, and she knew he could see it in her eyes as well and she agreed; they were both more than looking forward to building a family of their own.

**FIFTEEN YEARS LATER**

Anna walked into her room with a basket of laundry when she happened to glance at the third world map on the wall in their bedroom. She paused and smiled to herself as she let her eyes wander over the many tacks. There were quite a few considering, and to her, were all of the best memories of her life.

She dumped the clothes on the bed and started to fold them and place them into the waiting suitcase.

“Mooommmmm.” She heard her son call from his room down the hall. “Have you seen my cameras?”

“Downstairs in the office on your Father’s desk,” Anna called back.

She heard her son trot down the hall, throwing her a ‘thanks’ at her open bedroom door before he descended the stairs with heavy footfalls. Anna smiled to herself. Their oldest son Jay had taken quite an interest in photography. It seemed as though he was destined to follow in his father’s footsteps. Kristoff spent countless hours with him, explaining the intricacy of aperture and shutter speed, and Jay had taken some of the most breathtaking photo’s Anna had ever seen. He had a natural eye for it and Kristoff often told her that their son’s passion about learning the craft, astounded and inspired him. Kristoff even had to admit that Jay was turning into a better photographer than he was.

“Hey Mom, do you need some help?”

Anna turned her head as their first born came into the room and jumped on the bed, folding her legs under her as she reached for the clothes on the pile and started folding a shirt in front of her.

“Sure, thanks Cassie,” Anna smiled. Their oldest daughter had just turned fourteen and already Anna could see what a wonderful young lady she was becoming. She was more conscious and considerate of others than Anna could have ever hoped to see in any of their children. She had taken up Anna’s worldly causes and had slowly started making them her own, taking the time to do the research and help where it would make the most impact. As a result, the Arendelle Foundation (named in honor of Anna’s parents), was widely recognized all around the globe.

Cassie was studying to become an Environmental Lawyer and Anna knew she was going to make a great impact. Her daughter was focused on protecting all manners of life and her compassion was boundless. 

She heard Jay thunder up the stairs and he came into the room. “Mom, do you know if Dad is bringing his camera too? If he is, I think I’ll just back my little digital one.”

Anna looked into Jays’ eyes, still surprised by how much of Kristoff she saw in their son. He was only twelve, but Anna already knew he was going grow up to be big, just like his father. “I think he is, yes.”

“Ok thanks Mom,” Jay smiled and trotted off to his room to finish packing.

“How many books are you packing Mom?” Cassie asked, folding a pair of shorts and placing on the growing pile in front of her.

“I have three set out. How about you?”

“This time I think I’ll take five or six,” Cassie laughed. “Maybe then I won’t read through them all in the first week.”

Anna laughed with her daughter. She had become an incredibly fast reader. They all made sure to take an hour every day and read as a family. Usually just before dinner or after lunch. They all enjoyed it, even though their sons definitely got restless a lot faster than the rest of them.

They heard the front door downstairs and Anna could hear their youngest talking excitedly to Kristoff, no doubt going over all the fun of his classmate’s birthday party. Their voices grew louder as the came up the stairs and they both came into the master bedroom as Danny was telling Kristoff a joke he heard at the party. Kristoff chuckled loudly as their son broke out into his infectious laughter. 

Daniel was only nine, but he was fiercely intelligent. Not only was a boy genius, he had a bubbly personality and people could not seem to help but gravitate towards him. He used his smarts and his influence to promote anti-bullying campaigns at the schools around the island, and he would be the first one to introduce himself to a new kid at school, no matter what grade they were in. Anna had witnessed him stand up for kids getting picked on before, and she admired the hell out of his courage. He had a way of disarming any tense situation and often talked about an interest in first responder jobs.

Kristoff hugged Anna around the shoulders and kissed her cheek. “Need any help?”

“You can grab your socks and underwear,” Anna smiled.

Kristoff nodded with a smile and kissed her again, then disappeared into the walk-in closet.

Jay came in the room and started talking to Kristoff about places they could go to take some shots on their vacation as he stuffed his socks in their bag. Danny was regaling Cassie with the fun details of the party, and Anna paused to look at all of them, struck in the heart with emotion. There was no way there was anyone on the earth as lucky as her. She had been blessed with the most beautiful, wonderful, caring and supportive husband, who gave her three gorgeous, smart, caring children. 

Being lost for that period of time almost seemed to feel like another life when she looked upon her family. A pain that had faded so much with all the love she was given, that it didn’t even seem like it had ever happened.

There was so much of both her and Kristoff in all their children. Jay would grow up to be a mini Kristoff, that was clear, and Danny had every single one of Anna’s features. Cassie was a delightful mix of both, tall for her age, blonde hair, faint freckles and striking blue eyes. As much as they differed in their looks, they all had a very strong head on their shoulders, and both Anna and Kristoff knew their kids would go on to do great things.

In the morning they were taking them to Australia for a month. It was a trip they had been planning for two years and they were all extremely excited about it. For all the tacks in the family map, there were none yet in Australia, but when they got back, it would be almost full. It was going to be the trip of a lifetime, and they were all aware of how special and incredible the experience was going to be.

Anna looked up and caught Kristoff looking at her as their kids talked. He smiled his soft and sweet smile and Anna knew he was thinking the exact things she was. 

More tacks on the map.  
More memories to cherish.  
More love and bonding as a family.  
More time to savor every previous moment of life.

This was essentially the Bjorgman family motto. 

Anna smiled at her husband and mouthed “I love you.” He mouthed it back and they finished packing their things, excited for the dawn of the new day when a new adventure would begin.

**Author's Note:**

> For Anna weekend 2018 on tumblr


End file.
